BURLNGAME, Kan. – Ronald D. Bickford, 79, died Thursday, June 16, 2022, at his home at Burlingame, Kan. He was born Nov. 21, 1942, in Elmo, Kan., the son of Clyde Elmer Bickford and Helen Ruby (Fager) Bickford.
Ron was a lifelong resident of Burlingame, and graduated from Burlingame High School with the class of 1961.
On June 13, 1967, Ron was united in marriage to Elora Marie Smith in Fairview, Kan. They shared more than 51 years of loving marriage prior to Elora’s passing in 2018.
Ron worked as an engineer for the Kansas Department of Transportation, focusing on bridge design, from 1968 to 1998. He also worked for Goodyear prior to that. He owned Po’ Boy Sporting Goods.
Ron was a member of the Burlingame City Council, the Burlingame Lions Club, and the Kansas Polled Hereford Association. He was also a 4-H project leader and a member of the Burlingame Fire Department. He supported the Burlingame Historical Society.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Elora Bickford; his parents, Clyde and Helen Bickford; and a brother, Gary Bickford.
He is survived by four daughters, Teresa McNellis (James) of Burlingame, Marisa LaCoe (Erik), Beloit, Kan., Alicsa Mayer (Dana), Alta Vista, Kan., and Rhonda Bickford (Carl Bazil), Lyndon, Kan; a brother-in-law, Oliver Smith, Fairview, Kan.; and 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
To celebrate Ron’s life, a visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Saturday, June 25, at Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, 503 S. Topeka Ave., Burlingame, KS 66413. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Sunday, June 26, at Ramskill Chapel, Burlingame Cemetery, Burlingame. Please join the family after the services at the Burlingame Museum.
Memorial contributions can be made to Morris County 4-H Sharp Shooters, Osage County 4-H Shooting Sports, or the Burlingame Historical Society, and sent care of Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, PO Box 194, Burlingame, KS 66413. Condolences can be left at lamb-roberts.com.
